Fields
by Gemin16
Summary: Revised Version One Shot. Shikamaru, Ino, Fields, Deer, Family, Pellets.....and oh yeah, the occational riceball or two. ShikaIno.


Fields

*Revised Version*

Just some random mumbo jumbo in a form of a vignette, I really wanted to write a one shot Shika story that included his family and deer and this is what my creative challenged brain came up with. Anyway the story is composed of three parts and well is just filled with pure goodness. *can't believe I just said that*

Just to let you know there are tidbits of Shika/Ino and spoilers, also beware of parents, family, traditions, Shogi, Go, pellets, deer. And oh yeah….rice balls. Gotta have the rice balls.

This is the revised version, with spelling errors removed and a little extra material. Nothing to fancy but take a gander and see what's different if you've already read it.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, wish I did but I don't. It's all run by Kishimoto sensei.

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Shikato sat up and stretched lazily as the moonlight poured into his bedroom, even though it was close to five in the morning the veteran ninja was wide awake, very used to this routine. He quietly slipped out of bed so he wouldn't wake his wife and put on his usual ninja attire, net shirt complete with the vest. Fixing the mass of knots in his hair, he redid his ponytail and left the master bedroom closing the door behind him.

Traveling down the small hallway he passed by pictures as he made his way to another bedroom. He smiled as he recalled each memory that matched its picture counterpart. Pictures of the original InoShikaCho, his wedding, him and his father attending the herd. His eyes softened as he recalled that last picture's memory. This year would mark the tenth anniversary of his father's death. It was said that out of all the Nara clan members he was the one who cared for the deer the most and even though Shikato never loved them as much as his father did, he still loved spending time with his father and the creatures, together on that field. 

The deer were special to the Nara clan and it was they who took care of Konoha's deer population that grazed outside the village. Shikato remembered the first time his father took him out there to show him how it was done and now it was Shikato's turn to show his own son how to take care of the family treasure. 

He opened the door to his son's bedroom and walked in, stepping over all the books and games that laid everywhere. He made way to the bed covered in blankets with a small lump laying underneath it, tiny snoring noises seeping out through the fabric. A small hand stuck out from underneath, hanging over the side of the bed. Shikato chuckled lightly as he lifted up the two layers of blankets, revealing his sleeping son and the family kitten huddled up together. He leaned down and shook Shikamaru's arm till he was awake.

"Nggg," Shikamaru mumbled as he turned his face away from his father, almost squishing the kitten, whose name was Kuro, while doing so. Kuro meowed loudly and jumped from the bed and scampered out of the room. 

"Time to get up."

The six-year old opened up one lazy eye. "But its still dark outside," he whined.

Shikato shrugged and lifted his son up by his shirt's collar and placed him on his feet right in front of him. He patted the messy black hair, rumpling it even more. "Get dressed, I'm taking you to the fields today."

Shikamaru lazily grunted and watched as his dad left the room, why so early in the morning when it was still dark outside? Why couldn't it be latter on after he was awake? He started to take off his night shirt when he heard his dad call out to him. "Why don't you get take the small Go board with you, we can play a game or two during lunch." His eyes opened up more, maybe it wouldn't be so bad coming along.

Shikato waited downstairs in the kitchen looking around for something for them to eat on the way there. He opened the refrigerator saw a large lunchbox wrapped in cloth that his wife had prepared the night before. He took a hold of it and grabbed another cloth filled with rice balls that he and Shikamaru would share for their breakfast. He looked up as he heard tiny footsteps come down the stairs and saw his son yawn as he walked down dressed in his usual pants and jacket. Shikato grabbed a large bag that held various tools as well as the lunch box and placed it over his shoulder. "Come on, son."

*

Shikato loved early morning walks, with the brisk air that hugged your face and bear skin, along with the sunlight that poured heat of red, orange and yellow over the horizon. So they took their time as they made it down to the fields, he was really in no hurry. He looked down at his son, who was slowly munching his way through a rice ball. It was amazing how much Shikamaru looked like him when he was his age. From the hair to the same bored face, they were every inch father and son. 

It didn't take them too long to get to the gate that lead into the Nara field. Shikato opened it up and let Shikamaru in. 

"Take a good look Shikamaru," he said as he closed the gate, "this is what our family has kept precious for over a century, since before the leaf village was born. It is our job to take care of this herd because it is special not only to the Konoha and Fire Country but it is also special to us."

Shikamaru looked at what his father was talking about. Up until now he had never been to the Nara field where the deer were kept, it was strict policy that only members who were old enough were allowed to enter. He was amazed at what he saw. Almost one hundred deer stood there grazing silently in the cool fall morning, each only about three feet tall at the shoulder but the horns on the males made them look like they were almost six feet tall. They were scattered all over the large in groups of five to six, each one with a large male with huge antlers watching over the others. 

One of the deer came walking slowly towards the two as Shikato finished locking up the gate. Shikamaru couldn't help but step back towards his father as it walked up towards them, he had never seen anything with four legs so huge before. The deer itself measured almost three and a half feet at the shoulders with its antlers making it almost six and a half feet tall. It was easily the biggest deer in the entire field. Shikamaru watched as it looked at his father first and then turn its head down at him. He felt his hand reach up for his dad's as the buck lowered its head to Shikamaru's level with its dark brown eyes looking strait into his black ones. They stared at each other for almost a minute until the deer finally raised its head and walked away, making a whistling sound that spread all across the field.

"He's judging you," Shikato explained to his son.

Shikamaru looked up at his dad, who had a warm smile on his face. "Why?"

"That was Taishou, the head male of this herd. The deer here are highly intelligent for their species and they acknowledge who is allowed to step into their territory and stand among them. That is why only a certain amount of our clan can step into these field, because the deer choose who they will accept and who they won't. In a few years you'll be able to pet one of them on the head and not get bitten or have them run away from you."

"Why are these deer so special?"

"Their antlers have special medical abilities and their bones prove useful for several different tools, including weapons and medical instruments. They are the only herd of their kind in the Fire Country and among the strongest on our continent. After the great ninja war, very little of them remained except for our herd so it is our duty to watch over them and protect them. In return they provide us with usage of their bodies. It's an equal trade."

*

"Your grandfather loved these deer more than he loved being a ninja," Shikato told Shikamaru as they ate their lunch over a game of Go. His father and him had spent an entire morning gathering fallen antlers and making sure that everything with the gates and the fence were okay, all the while Taishou followed them, watching their every move. Shikamaru managed to ignore him half the time but the sheer size of the alpha deer alone as well as the intensity of those eyes had made him nervous. His father told him that he was observing him to make sure that he could trust Shikamaru with the protection of the herd.

"I was just about your age when he first brought me here." Shikamaru listened as he looked at the board thinking about the next move. His grandfather had died of a severe injury before he was born but by the way his father and relatives talked about him, it was obvious that he was a great man. He wasn't the greatest ninja, only staying at Chuunin level but his dedication to the deer was incompatible. His father had often joked that all hell could break loose and the Village of Hidden Mist could be attacking them and he would leave his post to go make sure that the deer were safe from all harm. "My first time here, the largest buck, I believe his name was Jaianto, almost hit me with his antlers. If you think Taishou is big, Jaianto was a least five inches taller at the shoulder." Shikato took a sip of his tea and placed his black chip ahead two points behind one of Shikamaru's white ones. It had only been about eight months since he had taught his son the game but it only took three short games before Shikamaru was officially hooked.

Shikato and Chiharu's son was indeed an intelligent child, beyond his laziness and lack of effort, they both knew that underneath laid a smart child. At the age of five, Shikato taught him how to play games like Shogi and Go to keep him busy when he was bored because his wife didn't like the idea that he was spending most of his time laying on his back staring at the clouds. There were no cousin's around Shikamaru's age and Chiharu was still uncomfortable with letting her young son go across the village to go play with other kids his age. So after Shikamaru had been taught how to read, Shikato had introduced him to a number of different games. Although he was still at times very lazy, Shikamaru still read the books that his mother had given him and every day since the very first game looked forward to the nightly match of Go or Shogi that he and his father played. 

Shikamaru placed a white piece down picking up five of his father's black ones. Shikato's eyebrow rose, impressive. He would defiantly have to tell Inoshi and Chomaru about this game at their weekly night out. 

*

Later that day, Shikato had given Shikamaru some pellets to give to the deer as Shikato cleaned up the antlers that he had collected to bring to the hospital the next day. Although Shikamaru was wondering what he was supposed to do with it, it wasn't like he could go straight up to the deer and thrust it in their faces, especially the ones with the antlers. He really didn't want to get next to Taishou at all. 

He laid on the ground near his father and watched as the clouds went by just daydreaming the rest of the day away. He wondered if his dad would want to play another game of Go when they got home but most likely his mother would scoop him up and make him sit down and read or something like that. Although, she had recently got him a new book about the sky. It wasn't a children's picture book, no his mother knew that the six year could read something harder, so she had gotten him an older children's book about the stars and the sky since he liked to stare off at nothing all day long. Maybe reading wouldn't be so bad….

Shikamaru's eyes opened wide as he felt a breeze of hot air hit his hand and he looked to the right to see one of the young deer poking at his hand, the one that held the pellets. Shikamaru watched as the antlers went back and forth in front of him as the deer kept rubbing his nose against Shikamaru's hand.

"He's not going to hurt you," Shikato told him as he kept on working without looking back at the scene. "Just let him eat from your hand." Slowly Shikamaru opened up his hand revealing the little brown pellets that laid across his palm. The deer began to eat them all, tickling Shikamaru's hand with every bite. He watched with wide eyes as the deer finished and walked away back to its group. 

Shikamaru saw something out of the corner of his eyes. It was Taishou. Yet again the two pairs of eyes met each other. Less than a moment later, Taishou walked off making a whistling noise again. Shikamaru watched as a two more of the small deer began to walk towards him.

Shikato chuckled and handed his son some more pellets. 

*

The day had been long and tiring for the young Shikamaru. From getting up early that morning to working with his dad and feeding the deer, all the activity had taken a toll on the future ninja. His father carried him piggy back to their house as the sun sank back into the earth. Shikato thought that the day had gone by fairly well, he couldn't quite tell if his son liked the experience, especially when he was almost pierced by one of the antlers. Although if Shikato remembered correctly his first time wasn't that pleasant either, he still had a nasty scar on his leg form that experience. But Shikamaru hadn't complained that day so he assumed that he had enjoyed some of it.

By the time they got home, Chiharu was a little peeved that they were late for dinner but she smiled fondly when she saw her young boy fast asleep on his father's back. Shikato took Shikamaru straight to his room where he laid his son down and pulled the covers over him. As he left the room he heard a mumble come from the boy.

"Can I come with you next time?" 

Shikato smiled. "Of course."

***10 years later***

"Sorry, Ino, today's my turn to watch the deer."

Ino sighed as she looked up at Shikamaru. Her hair, which had finally grown back to its normal length, blew in the wind getting in the way of her face. Frustration was written on her features and she placed one hand on her hip, the other was occupied with holding onto a wrapped parcel. "And this is the only day off you've had in a while too," she said with a sigh. "Well I guess some things can't be helped. Tonight then?"

"Its troublesome, but I guess I can try and make it." He put his hands in his pockets. "If it means that much to you."

"Stop acting like it's the worse thing in the world," Ino told him. "We haven't all seen each other in months. I'm surprised I see you as much as I do!"

Shikamaru shrugged. Okay so maybe a little part of his mind wouldn't mind seeing everyone together again. He wondered whose idea it was, most likely Naruto's after he went through all the possibilities, especially considering that it was at the Ramen shop. Shikamaru noticed the large clock by the ninja admins building. "Listen Ino, I have to get going. I'll meet up with you tonight by the shop." He nodded farewell to her and began to walk away.

Ino waved bye to him and frowned, she really wanted to spend the day with him. She looked at the small package that was wrapped up in her hands and finally remembered why she was carrying it. "Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru stopped and turned around. "Eh?" the Chuunin asked lazily.

Ino held the package up to him. "I made this hoping that you would try them for me."

Shikamaru's eye twitched recognizing the familiar wrapping that went along with what was inside. He carefully took the package that was present to him and held it casually under one arm. "What's inside?" _More like what is it supposed to be inside,_ he thought.

"Rice balls," Ino said.

"From scratch?"

"Yeah."

"With no help from your mother."

"Yep."

Shikarmaru looked at the packaged wrapped up in a green hankerchief. His stomach grumbled as he remembered the last thing he was asked to try. Sad to say he could never eat squid the same way ever again. He looked at Ino with a mildly serious look.

"Are they edible?" 

Dodging the punch that was aimed at his face, Shikamaru stepped back and continued on his way. "Thanks for the lunch!" he called back to her. He heard a 'humph' behind as he walked off to the fields.

As soon as he was old enough to properly defend himself he was put on duty to watch the deer fields all by himself. Before it was usually him and his father but when he graduated from the academy he was put on solitary deer duty. It wasn't so bad, there was usually little action except for an occasional wolf or two entering or maybe a larger animal. That wasn't the problem, the deer could handle that on their own, but every once and a while a hunter or thief would try to enter and kill or steal a deer for the market. Being some of the rarest deer on the continent, it wasn't unheard of. However most of the time deer duty consisted of just sitting around all day long, but Shikamaru didn't mind, he actually enjoyed having the entire field to himself. Just him and the deer alone in the wide open space far away from everyone else.

Once he reached the prized Nara fields, he opened the small wire gate that creaked and entered. Shikamaru made note that he would have to tell his father and uncle that it would need to be replaced by a new one soon. Setting down the lunch that Ino had made him, he locked the gate. He could feel the presence of one of the bucks standing behind him. It was most likely Jin, who had became the leader after Taishou had passed about five years ago. The deer walked up beside him and nudged him in the elbow and then bent down to motion at the box that Shikamaru had set down.

"Oi, that's not for you," he mumbled as he picked it up and rubbed Jin between his eyes and then patted him on the back. Jin let out a sigh through his nostrils and walked along with Shikamaru towards the center. Summer was one of the best times to sit in the Deerfield, especially with the giant tree in the middle that offered the best shade and the wildflowers that covered the field ,giving off a gentle welcome sent. Shikamaru set down the lunchbox and laid down on the grass absorbing the coolness that the shaded area offered to him, it was long and soft and it was impossible not to be comfortable. Aside from his cloud gazing bench, this was his favorite spot to watch the clouds.

But deer duty offered a much needed break from the rest of the world too. When he was out here, no one ever came out and bothered him, he could go to any deep dark place in his head and stay there or just daydream the day away until it was time for him to go. The field was often the first place he went to when he wanted to be alone or just get his thoughts strait. He wasn't the only one who thought so, it wasn't rare that he would find one of his relatives here feeding the deer or sitting in the tree. It was truly a special place that was one of the greatest treasure of the clan.

Life as a ninja was never said to be easy but in the past few years life as Konoha ninja had been especially rough. With the war with Sound and Sand almost three years ago and then the bigger war between Sound and the Leaf only ending four months earlier, with the Sound almost completely destroyed and the Leaf suffering heavy damage. Orochimaru was dead as well as many of his ninja followers but so were many members of Leaf's own forces. Now every ninja had to work almost twice as hard to cover up for those that were lost and because of that anyone would have appreciated a break, even if it was only for one day. Shikamaru found himself on mission after mission with sometimes less than two days recovery from the last one. He had hardly seen his father, his family, much less his friends.

And what of his friends? Because of Sasuke's decision to defect many of them became closer and a strong bond formed between the ninjas. Naruto was one of his closest friends, even if Shikamaru didn't want to admit it to the world. They were usually assigned on the same team for missions and the friendship that they had shared before had grown stronger over those years. Every once and a while Shikamaru would find himself over at Naruto's, usually just to hang around and talk but most often he was seen with the buoyant ninja at the local ramen shop. 

He was even starting to get along with Sasuke, even though they were still on a two sentence limit between each other. Sakura was okay to listen to when she wasn't fighting with Ino (which had died down a lot over the years). Kiba and his dog, Akamaru, had become more tolerable as they grew older and Shino was well-Shino, but he was starting to talk more often. Even Hinata, who had gained more confidence in herself, was someone he enjoyed sharing a conversation with every once and a while.

But not everyone was still here. His best friend, Chouji, who had given everything to let them escape, didn't make it. Somehow Shikamaru had known it back then. As they were racing to catch up with Sasuke and the other three gates, when that butterfly flew past him, it was as if it were telling him that Chouji was gone. And it was confirmed the moment they found his body slumped against the tree where one of the arrows was engraved with a small group of butterflies around him. However he wasn't the only one to pass. Neji, who had suffered all those blows, had died as well. Two lost on his first mission, his best friend and someone he respected.

Then there was telling Ino. Shikamaru hated that, upon reaching the village with all of them injured, the rest of them were sent to the hospital to receive treatment, but Shikamaru was told to stay in the Hokage's office to give a full report. He did, and finally when the last detail was told and the coordinates of where the bodies of the two fallen ninjas were given, he was sent to the hospital to get medical treatment and some much needed rest. That had been in the morning and the news of their return had spread fast, it had barely been one o'clock when the door to his room opened and in stepped Ino, who had a worried look written upon her face. When she saw that Shikamaru had been alright, sitting up in bed and staring off into the sky, she was overjoyed. 

But then she had to ask.

*flashback*

"Shikamaru, where's Chouji? I didn't see his name anywhere. It's the fact that he's injured so bad that he can't have any visitors? Right?" Her expression had changed from relief to desperation. Shikamaru knew that she was smart enough to figure out the possibilities and most likely knew the true answer deep inside, somewhere.

He wanted to look away but he couldn't, even with the extremely large lump forming in his throat. He couldn't say the words, he couldn't admit it to himself that it had happened but no matter what he wanted to believe, it was true. He had seen the body, he was the one who made the decision to leave it behind for ANBU to find and bring back, and now he was the one to have to admit it out loud, all over again. Did he have to be constantly reminded of it? That was the last thing he wanted to remember and he didn't want to tell her the truth but he had too. It was up to him to tell her. And as Ino stepped closer to him waiting for his reply, all he could do was look into her eyes and mutter in a small eerie voice was, "Sorry."

It pained him to watch the word hit Ino. She looked at him confused and then less than a second later, her face began to flush, her beautiful eyes began to turn red, and then finally the tears fell as she gripped onto Shikamaru's bed and began to cry. He didn't know what to do, things like this were expected in a ninja's life because death was never to far behind in a job like this. But when it was your best friend-

Shikamaru did the only thing he could do at that moment, he let Ino cry and finally let his own tears fall letting all truth sink in.

*end flashback*

Shikamaru shook his head, he didn't like remembering all that but he did anyways. He knew he could never remove those memories from his mind. The funeral was two days later and that had been even worse. Ino stood close by him as the ceremony went on and Asuma stood behind them, a mournful look replacing his usual casual expression. To the left of him stood the Hyuuga clan, upset at their strongest member's passing. He remember seeing Hinata standing next to her younger sister, looking at Neji's memorial, her eyes were strong but sad. Next to them stood Gai's cell with Lee and Tenten, both seemed to be in a state of denial. Their teacher held a stoic expression throughout the entire ceremony but Shikamaru knew that he was hurting inside.

But near-bye, also on the left of him, stood the Akimichi clan, with Chouji's father and mother standing in front. Shikamaru couldn't bear to look at them. He knew they wouldn't blame him, after all Chouji had died for the sake of the mission, but still, just the fact that he was gone. 

After those first few days he couldn't remember what happened and he didn't want to know. It most likely involved him sitting in his room or out wandering around in a hypnotic state. But he did know that a lot of things happened after that. Some of them were bad, like the Hokage announcing that times were indeed going to get even worse, especially with the rumor that the Sound village had perhaps signed a treaty with the Cloud village, making the possibility of another attack greater. Or the warning given to all Chuunin and Jounin regarding the addition of the organization Akatsuki to the Bingo book and that they would be after a number of people within the village for reasons supposedly unknown. Shikamaru wasn't sure but he knew that Tsunade and many of the jounin knew exactly what Akatsuki was after, however he kept his mouth closed. 

But many of those events that had occurred were good as well. The friendship between Shikamaru and Ino had been always been close, since they had known each other from they were little and had been teammates for well over a year, but since Chouji's death, their bond had grown stronger. Ino stopped chasing Sasuke almost right after he came back, leaving him all to Sakura. She began to hang out with Shikamaru more often than ever. Sometimes they managed a training session together or he would stop by and visit her at the flower shop to see how she was doing. Almost a year and a half ago he had been ask to go along with the Hokage to the Hidden Village of Stone where the Chuunin finals were to take place and it was there he had watched proudly as Ino competed in the final rounds. She had lost one of her matches but in the end she was granted the title of Chuunin along with Hinata, Kiba, and Sakura. 

All that time together was cherished. He didn't know if the feeling was mutual but he knew that his feelings for Ino were slowly growing into more than that of just close friends. He had always found something interesting and attractive about her but he was realizing it more and more with every month that passed by. Sure, women were troublesome, and maybe Ino was one of the worse ones but he knew he could deal with it. Perhaps it was just an infatuation that was supposed to last for a long time and then die off but then again perhaps it was more. He didn't know how long it was going to last and he didn't plan on rushing anything either.

Shikamaru's stomach growled. The Chuunin had forgotten to ask his mother for lunch and he was too lazy to make it himself but he was hungrier than he thought he was. He looked at Ino's package. Was he really that hungry? His stomach growled even louder.

Sitting up, Shikamaru grabbed the package and untied the clothe covering it. Opening it up he discovered, six squarish rice balls just sitting there. Nothing around it, no odd smells coming from them, the color resembled that of normal cooked rice. They actually looked edible.

But then again so did the squid and many of her other dishes.

"Troublesome," muttered Shikamaru as he picked up the first one. It held together and actually looked a bit appetizing. He took a bite and chewed, then he stopped and swallowed.

It actually tasted good. Delicious even. 

Shikamaru shrugged and finished it, perhaps miracles were possible after all. He munched on the rest of them as he looked at all the deer that were on the field. The passing years hadn't been kind to the herd with many of them dying during the war, victims of battles spread everywhere but the spring had been generous to the Nara clan's prized herd, with the birth of twenty healthy deer, a majority of them male. It would take a while but the deer were sturdy and could easily go back to the numbers it was before the war. Many of the little fawns were near their mothers but a few of them were wandering off and playing. Shikamaru noted Jin somewhere near them, keeping a strong eye upon his surroundings.

Shikamaru nibbled on the last rice ball and looked up at the clouds. _No fair, you're floating extra slow to tease me today_, he thought.

But then he felt it, it wasn't human chakra but the presence of something big, coming from beyond the gate. He stood up and watched as a pack of wolves ran into the field from underneath the gate. Large and hungry they began to run inwards chasing after the deer that were grazing near-bye. Most of the them ran away at the first sign of danger but some of the small ones weren't fast enough yet.

"Shit," muttered Shikamaru as he began to run over to where the wolves were heading. "Must have been digging holes underneath the fence again." He took out a few kunais and threw one, hitting one of the wolves in the chest causing it to fall down. He managed to cut them off, and threw the rest of the kunai's with dead on aim, hitting all but two. Jin chased one off to the side but the other was still left and it was getting too close to a small fawn that had been cornered. 

As the wolf drew closer, Shikamaru ran to the fawn, lifting up its light body and managing to throw a shuriken at the same time, striking the predator in the throat. The wolf tumbled and laid still on the ground like the rest of the pack. The fawn stirred around in Shikamaru's arms until he finally put it down, letting it run over to its mother. He noted that Jin had chased off the last wolf and was now walking around the ones on the ground, making sure that they were all dead. 

"How annoying," he muttered as he lifted the wolf carcass, he didn't feel like doing cleanup today.

*

"So a pack of wolves dug a hole and slipped under the gate?" Ino asked as the two of them walked home from Ichiraku, having spent a rather enjoyable evening with their friends, "and you had to spend the rest of the afternoon looking for other holes?" She let out a small laugh.

Shikamaru stuck his hands within his pockets. "Damn animals."

Ino bumped into his shoulder playfully, or more like his side. He had grown much taller in the past few years and she was barely five inches below his height. "Stop acting like you don't care about them because deep down you know you like them."

"Whatever."

Ino smiled. "So how did you like the riceballs?"

"Eh? Those oddly shaped excuses for rice balls that were edible?"

Ino growled, getting ready to hit Shikamaru at any moment. "A simple yes or no will do!"

"Surprisingly delicious," he said looking at her.

"Wha? You really liked them?" She said with a delighted expression.

"Ah."

She clapped her hands in delight. "Good, then I'll make you more when I get back from my mission." She was leaving on a long mission tomorrow and was probably not getting back for almost six months. It was going to be one of the longest period of time that they would be separated.

The two of them stopped in front of the flower shop where Ino lived. Shikamaru watched as she opened the door. "Stay safe," he told her.

Ino nodded. "You too." 

As she went inside, Shikamaru turned around and began to walk off.

"Wait, Shikamaru!" Shikamaru looked back only to have Ino's arms wrap around his neck as she embraced him in a tight hug. "I'll miss you," she whispered into his ear.

A small blush made its way to Shikamaru's face as Ino's face and body got closer to his. He wrapped his arms around her and held her closer. "I'll miss you too," he said. "Just come back." After a few minutes they let each other go but not without Ino placing a kiss on his cheek.

"I will," she said and finally went back inside.

Shikamaru still felt the warmth from Ino's lips as he went to bed that night. 

***16 years later***

Shikamaru groaned as he opened one eye to the small stream of lighting that sneaked its way inside through the shades. Thunder roared and made some of the items scattered among the room vibrate. Damn that noise, he didn't want to get up this early. He turned around so that his back was facing the window, away from the storm. But the inside wall wasn't what he saw, instead he saw the bodies of the two most important people in his life, soon to be three in about seven months. He didn't know how time could go by so fast and yet at times go so slow. It seemed like it was just yesterday when he and Ino had gotten married and started a family and before he knew it, here he was laying down in bed with his expectant wife and six year old daughter.

It was a bad habit, one that Ino said she experienced when she was her daughter's age, but every time there was a bad storm outside, Shikari would always manage to crawl into her parent's bed and sleep between the two. The little girl was getting better about it, only sneaking into her parent's room when a really nasty storm passed over the hidden village. This was the first time in about six months.

He sighed as he looked at Shikari, who's small body was curled up in Ino's arms, hearing her slowly breath in and out. Well at least she wasn't upset anymore, she always seemed to get nightmares on nights like this but in the presence of her parents, she was always able to sleep soundly. Shikamaru smiled wistfully. Step three of his life's plan complete. 

"Don't forget its your turn today despite what the weather is."

Shikamaru looked over his daughter's body to see Ino's cerulean eyes looking strait into his. "I know, but its too early right now. Besides its still storming out there."

Ino smiled. "You promised her."

Shikamaru moved in and held the two of them closer to him. "When the storms over," he mumbled as he leaned his head against his daughter's back. One of Ino's hand managed to find his and held it for a while. 

"Seven more months and we won't be able to enjoy peace and quiet like this in the morning," she told him.

"I have extra ear plugs stored for when this one is born."

"You did the same with Shikari but you still got up at three in the morning."

"Only because you kicked my ass out of bed."

Ino laughed lightly. "It took two of us to get into this and the both of us are going to go through it together."

Shikamaru snorted, he wasn't even going to bother to argue. If Ino said he was going to help and the chances of him getting out of it (as if he wanted to) were nil.

"So what should we name him?"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it too early to decide these things?"

"I like Hoshi," Ino continued, ignoring him.

"Hoshi? And if it's a girl?"

"Hana."

Shikamaru pictured two small children that looked like a cross between him and Ino and smiled. Ino had always had a way with naming things, she was the one who gave Shikari her name and the names she chose were both beautiful. "Both work for me."

*

Two small hands tugged on the fishnet shirt. "Daddy, Daddy, lets go!"

Shikamaru put on his jacket. "Oi, calm down and finish putting on your shoes."

Shikari did as she was told and plopped down on the floor to put her sandals on. Shikamaru sighed as he looked at his active daughter. He could never remember being this energetic at her age, infact he was quite the opposite. Despite her being named after him and having dark hair and eyes like him, Shikari was hardly anything like her father and instead looked and even acted like her mother.

"Troublesome," was all Shikamaru could say when he thought about it. Hopefully this next kid would be more like him.

"Behave," Ino told her daughter as she brought out a wrapped package and handed it to Shikamaru. "And do as your father tells you."

"Hai~," Shikari said hugging Ino.

Ino smiled and bent down to kiss her daughter and then her husband. "See you two later, you'll have to fend for yourselves for dinner, Mom needs me at the shop."

Shikamaru sighed. There was no way he was going to cook, not after a full day at the fields. "Ramen, it is."

*

"Daddy."

Shikamaru down at his daughter as they walked towards the deer fields. "Eh?"

"When can I become a ninja like you and mommy?"

A question not uncommon. "When you graduate from the academy."

"OI, SHIKAMARU!!"

Shikamaru winced as the loud voice echoed throughout the street. It could only belong to one man. He looked around to see if anyone else was around and finally looked at that person. "Oi, Naruto, could you be any louder?"

The Hokage laughed as he walked up to Shikamaru with a playful grin. "Heh, no one around to hear me, they're all still inside. Finally taking Shikari out to the fields?" he asked after noting the large bag of tools and the boxed lunch.

"Yeah, she's about the same age that I was when Dad took me for the first time," Shikamaru said. He looked down at the small boy that stood by Naruto's side, gripping onto the cloak the Hokage was known for wearing over his ninja uniform. "Out with Narushi, I see?"

Naruto ruffled his son's dark hair. "Just out for the usual walk before I go to the admins building, and then he's going to spend the day with Hinata as usual." Narushi looked up at Shikamaru with his clear eyes that he inherited form his mother's clan. Despite the fact that he had the Hyuuga characteristics, it was easy to see all of Naruto's features on his son. "Then tonight, we're going for ramen, right?"

"Chicken for me!" Narushi said with a grin.

__

Every inch his father when you take away the Hyuuga in him, Shikamaru thought.

"We're having ramen tonight too," Shikari told Narushi.

"Really?"

"Uh huh."

"So how's Ino doing?" Naruto asked letting the children carry on their conversation. Naruto had been one of the first people to hear about the pregnancy besides the family, when it was announced almost two weeks ago.

"She has seven months to go."

"Have you started taking bets yet?" It was a bad habit started by Tsunade, Jiraiya, Asuma, and Kakashi and had passed along to their students. The rules were simple, whenever someone was pregnant anyone except for the parents could place a date, hour of birth, and sex of the unborn child or children. Whoever guessed correctly won a lot of money (especially when practically everyone joined in). To date, Naruto had the most wins much to the disgust of everyone else, having won the bets placed on the Shino's son, the Uchiha twins, as well as several of their other ninja colleagues. He had almost won with Shikari's birth but she was born three weeks early of the expected date. 

Shikamaru looked annoyed. 

Naruto laughed. "Come on, its never to early to start and this time I know this kid won't be born early." He patted his son on the back. "Anyways lets go, Narushi. Say bye to Shikamaru-san and Shikari-chan."

"Bye Shikarmaru-san, see you later, Shikari-chan," Narushi said as he followed his dad.

Shikamaru motioned for Shikari to do the same. "Bye Hokage-sama, bye, Narushi-chan." 

*

As he opened the gate to the fields, Shikari stood next to her father, looking at all the deer that were scattered across it meadow, the young fawns walked around in the wet grass as their mother's stood near-bye, eating. The males grazed not to far away, the signs that their antlers were growing back evident from the bumps on their heads. She stood silent absorbing all that she seeing.

After the gate was locked, Shikamaru waited as Mori, the head deer, walked towards them. As expected, Shikari moved next to her father's leg and held onto his pants as the buck first looked at Shikamaru and then at Shikari. His hand patted the top of Shikari's head, he trusted Mori, after all he did save his life all those years ago. 

As soon as Mori had left, and giving his approval of the little girl, Shikamaru felt the same speech his father told him form in his head as he kneeled down next to his daughter. 

"These deer are important to us, Shikari. Never forget that."

Shikari nodded understanding that what her father was telling her was important. After all, despite the fact that she was completely active like her mother, she did posses a high intelligence like her father. "I won't."

*

Later that day father and daughter sat underneath the large tree, ready to share a much welcomed lunch. Shikamaru opened the lunch box to find nine rice balls, tea, and some sandwiches that had been made for them. Lucky for him, Ino had become a better cook over the years, learning how to prepare all sorts of different food but still nothing beat her rice balls, which were as good as ever. He took one out and handed it to Shikari, who was seated in his lap. She had spent the better part of the day hanging around her father, picking wildflowers and feeding the fawns, who were already used to her. As far as he could tell, she was enjoying herself. He sipped his tea and looked at Mori, who was grazing not too far away from them.

"Daddy?" 

Shikamaru looked down at his daughter, who was looking at the field. "Hmm?"

She looked up at him, with an honest expression. She smiled at him and pointed out towards the animals that were grazing not to far away. "Can I come with you next time. I really like the deer."

Shikamaru smiled and held his daughter in a hug. "Of course."

**************************************************************************************************************

A/N: it's the revised version!!!!!!!!! Yeah yeah nothing to new.

In regards to previous reviews, when I said write more I meant to say should I write more stories like these? My fault for not being overly specific on what I meant but some people wanted more so I am attempting to come up with something else. Any request?


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